Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
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STB65
Is RNCOX worth holding?
After looking at the M* 1 and 3 year numbers on this fund with its ER of 2.22%, I wonder if it's time to give up on it. It was once recommended as a core holding, but I'm not sure it's worth its cost.
Is anyone holding it with confidence?
Investing anymore than a trivial amount in a Chinese corporation must be regarded as aggressively speculative. Self-dealing would be expected and the gov't control and needs supercedes corporation interest. Mutual fund managers probably have more in…
To David:
At least you weren't kicked out at 50% done, etc. I occasionally participate in remunerated surveys in my profession and find they collect a lot of data before they expell me. Obviously, I only start one now when I have little else to do, …
Until 2008-9, DODGX had a great record, as I should know, since I bought it based largely on Kiplinger.
The interesting aspect of the K recommendations is how few rate risk scores in the moderate or lower range. but that may be a function of the M…
To MJG; Probably the logical approach to use VT, although I may look for a small or mid cap global fund to try to pick up the historical extra gain from that part of the market with a portion of the investment. With 4 children, it may be difficult t…
Thanks for all the comments. Only reason I selected a higher than currently recommended percentage for non-US companies was that I thought it might somewhat more closely match the location of the world's companies in a score of years.
I think I saw …
Geez, MJG, cut the good doctor some slack!
Fund Alarm, which I read largely for entertainment and a few useful warnings, has morphed into an "interesting new fund" site, and seems to be evolving into a useful site for evaluating new or small funds…
As usual, I'm a bit confused. M* doesn't give the fund a 3 year rating and its 1 yr ratings has it underperforming its peer group and the S&P500. The initial review in 2-12 was favorable, but has it regressed to the mean?
Deep value guys, like Cinnamond, aren't likely to do well in a rising market.
Investing with them requires a long time frame, and paying over 1% for cash is irritating. So far I've lost a few bucks in my TDA account with him and made some in my AIP…
Having holdings in TBGVX a couple of decades, I split half into TBCUX, the unhedged offering, and have been a few percentage points better, FWIW. Never saw a reason to sell, since the managers and staff purportedly have much of their net worth in th…
I've read all the links provided, but I can't find "Efficient Sectors and Indexing" from Fundalarm. How do I find it? I put the title in the search box, but admittedly didn't use quotes.
From my many years of misadventure, it seems clear than indexi…
Stopped my AIP lately due to a couple of weddings pending. Meets my main criteria: good relatively long positive previous track record and a lot younger than I am. Hope he makes my children happy. (Shucks, hope he makes me happy in 2020.)
I transferred my Wasatch international funds into Global Opportunities early and am happy with the returns. The opening of additional funds seems to require me to time the various markets, which is what I hired them to do. I'm a bit concerned that t…
Well, maybe. I don't follow Europe too closely, but, based on the NPR stories I've heard, the PIIGS don't seem to be doing all that well, and there was a recent (non-NPR) comment that Germany's bonds might be down-rated. China is so-so. EM might be …
Everyone's advice is reasonable. I like Scott's FPA Crescent, and health care stock picks are pretty safe with a dividend. Agree with selling a large percentage of bond funds. Market seems pretty frothy, so might want to wait until fall for equity f…
Being in Wintergreen for years, I always was afraid to dump a "great manager -- with high expenses", and I am decently positive for the time - until I checked his M* figures and returns against "world funds" to find that he trailed for the past 3 ye…
While the fundamental index funds and equal weight index funds concept have always seemed sensible, they seem to be lagging in YTD performance by 3 to 7 percent in this aberrant year.
I googled Martin ratio with fundamental index, getting zilch. …
Another reason to be very cautious if investing in commodities or commodity funds (one of my several negative mutual funds over the past 3-5 yr, although the others benefited from the last few months to turn positive. And I recognize it's a bull mar…
I think the validity of Scott's comment re "nearing retirement" is dependent on one's financial holdings. He may be correct if one has little excess savings beyond immediate needs. However, if one can meet the next 5 years with SS and savings, EM ma…
I do hope you're both correct, but I put some money in this week (other money had been there long term), so Murphy's Law of Investing ("The stock, fund, market you buy is the only one that tanks - unless all of them do") is probably active.
With a…
I've considered this approach, but, having seen long term care insurers raise their premiums or alter their contracts, I wonder how reliable these contracts will be at age 80? While buying early reduces cost; contracting with the survivors produces …
google "mutual fund x-ray tools". Took me to an apparently free site from Morningstar. (only useful statement here; remainder is opinion)
Ted is correct if you are trying for a balanced US portfolio, but Kdow has the costs figured. I have ridden "g…
You are a patient individual.
If upward movement after 3 years is not evident, can't see why waiting 2 more years is useful. Does anyone have reference to support the extra 2 years?
Bought SQM a few months ago, since it was in the Seafarer portfolio and I think AF knows what he's doing. Guess I should buy more now. Too bad I don't have any money. Looks like there will be time to average in.
FWIW, I did think his analysis was lo…
I also buy a lot of funds recommended on MFO, so I may have as many funds as you. Charles has done the metrics, so you should follow his advice in general. If you can find it, check the Martin ratio on your funds and consider keeping the high number…
As a professional cynic (it pays poorly, but disappointments are rare), I was much less impressed with this article than some claim to be. With parents living at 99 and 92, I'm not even selecting 95 as the zero funds date.
I see little point quotin…
30 stocks, which you can adjust at initial purchase, for $10 trading cost?? I haven't taken time to read their fine print, but I don't see how they can make enough profit to stay in business. It seems even less likely they could afford to allow indi…
Sorry, Max, but you should have stopped at paragraph one. People who keep the "environment" clean are critical to the morale of the patients and other hospital staff.
I read of (presumably) human feces ignored for several days on one of the back s…
In retrospect, I think I'm an investor in the same sense that backers in various poker championships are investors. (I think the later losers still get paid something.)
"Old too soon, wise too late." (Benj. Franklin or Oscar Wilde - one of them said…
If you follow MFO, you probably use active managers, and selection is difficult. My 2+ decades of exposure (I initially put "experience", but that sounds hubristical - as you know: "Experience is the only school that kills its students") include Oak…
After reviewing the 'Ulcer ratio" and Martin Index several months ago, they seemed sensible, intriguing and not readily available (so far as I could tell, but I don't have time to research widely). Avoiding major downsides becomes even more importan…
I've rarely seen a Bogle interview. I routinely vote against boards of directors, since I think most of them are either cronies, extended family members, or purchased retired military or former government or university officials who owe much more to…
"Off topic" seems a bit too rational a title for this discussion. While I'm fairly certain that the cockroaches will survive us, I doubt the durability of the platypus, which apparently required the isolation of Australia to survive, while the bandi…
Were I they, I might stall the launch until I smelled a bottom in this volatility. Not being they, should they launch now, I might wait to invest until others convinced me the bottom had occurred.
